Friday, March 5, 2010

A Little Smaller Anklevich

They used to call me Big Anklevich because I was big. But these days, most people call be Big Anklevich because I'm fat.

I guess, in reality, I've pretty much been content with that. I like to eat, and I like to eat good food. I've never bothered to cultivate self-control or any of that new age nonsense (like anyone could control themselves...ridiculous).

So, I wasn't very excited or positive when my wife told me in January that she had decided to lose weight by using HCG, which is some sort of hormone thing, I think. She has many friends that have already done the same thing, and lost weight. She's had enough of being referred to as Big's wife because she's fat, instead of because she's my wife. So she decided to do something about it.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I was required to participate in this program with her.

You can only do this thing for between three to six weeks. And we decided we would do the three week variety. While on HCG, I was only allowed to eat 500 calories per day. Now, if you're like I used to be, and you have no idea what 500 calories means, I'll elucidate. A normal fit male usually eats around 2,000 calories a day. Big Anklevich used to eat closer to 3,000 calories a day. So in other words, I had to get by on one sixth of the food I used to eat.

Like I said before, I've never bothered with that self-control stuff. But here I was, required to employ massive amounts of self-control to comply with this regimen. Worst of all, during our time of eating nothing, free food showed up at work with unprecedented regularity. One day there was so much food that someone proclaimed it the best free food day ever. I had to turn my back on all of it. I'll admit, I was a little bitter with my wife.

The idea behind the HCG, as explained to me by my wife was to block some of the feelings of hunger, to give you the energy that you would normally have gained by eating food, and to keep your body from going into that starvation mode that causes it to hold onto fat and burn muscle. I don't know if it did all that stuff or not. I do know that I was almost always hungry, even moments after having finished my meals. The whole process sucked massively.

However, I did lose a lot of weight. After the holiday season, I was weighing in at 295 lbs. I was just short of three bills, and I'd been teetering on the edge of that infamous distinction for around a year, maybe more (but never once had I actually weighed in over 300, so I can at least say that). After all that suffering, however, I had lost approximately 35 lbs. I weigh just a touch over 260 these days, and I'm doing my best to keep it that way.

Below is a picture of me from November, not long before we started into this thing. It's a little blurry, but I think it gets the point across of what I looked like before.Now, below is a picture from February, just as we were finishing the program. I think 35 lbs. looks much better off of me than on.Hopefully, I can continue to keep this self-control that I discovered during this ordeal. I set aside a bunch of Hershey's Kisses that came into work while I was on the diet to eat when I finally finished. I've been eating only about one or two per day. That's my goal, to eat food like a skinny person does--not turning things down, just not transforming into a monster and eating the whole bag of kisses or the whole pizza by myself.

4 comments:

I've spent the last couple of years getting my weight down to something healthier. In my case it meant gradually taking off about thirty pounds (I think. I don't speak American!) over a year or so. The rest of yhe time I've spent keeping it off.

Like you're discovering, that's more about moderation than anything else. When I go to McDonald's I order regular size meals. I snack on fruit and nuts rather than cake and biscuit. ... See More

I've found I enjoy food more now. Treats are actually a treat. I also enjoy eating what I once might have called 'rabbit food'. Yet I also start to feel nauseous if I eat too much.

What I guess I'm saying is that your body will learn to manage and actually start rewarding you for treating it well.

I think this is a terrific achievement, Bigg. I've been near the 300lb mark in my life, about 15 years ago. At the time, I told people I was battling anorexia and wouldn't stop until I was sure it had been defeated.

If you ever need a chocolate fix, I'd suggest trying those Cool Whip Dips. They make one in chocolate, it has the taste and texture ... See Moreof jello pudding, and carries roughly 10 calories a table spoon. Even if you should happen to lose control and over-indulge, the entire bowl only has about 200 calories.

While 35 pounds in 3 weeks is of questionable safety, I commend you. I live a balanced life, that is to say that I don't gain or lose weight as long as life is normal. Not sure I could sacrifice like that, my man. Now, ya gotta keep it off!

About Me

Big Anklevich is a writer, podcaster, diabetic, toy collector, audiobook listener, national park patch collector, and father, but not in that order. So, why did he write them in that order if they don't belong in that order? What a douche! His thoughts may not be deep or worthwhile, but he's here to share them with the world all the same. Again, what a douche!